COMMUNITY INTERVIEW WITH JOHN ANTHONY WEST

The interview covers topics from Ancient Egypt, through Ayahuasca, up to the uncertain future of our current civilization.

"What we live in the midst of is not “civilization” in any meaningful sense of that word. I call it “shiny barbarism.” And for anything to change, everything must change. For the seed to sprout, the husk must crack and dissolve. There is no other way, as far as I know." -JAW

BREAKING NEWS

Egypt, of course, will be a central subject, in much more depth than I'm able to get into on normal radio or TV interviews. I'll also be delving into many other topics that I rarely have the opportunity to explore publicly. It should be fun, though with my unalterable talent for disorganization, it may take a few programs to achieve some measure of 'professional' coherence. So, if you tune in from the get-go, be forgiving.

Here's a (provisional) list, not necessarily in this order, of planned programs.

MAGICAL EGYPT TOURS

These intensive 12 day tours introduce you to 'Symbolist Egypt': the Egypt of the ancient Egyptians, as opposed to the Egypt of academic Egyptologists.

Egypt's temples, tombs and pyramids are powerful, resonating places. They move us, even in ruins, because their builders were masters of an ancient sacred science; a science of cosmic principles.

This knowledge was expressed in geometry, measure, harmony and proportion, and through myth and symbolism. The result was literally magical and it is this magic that we experience as we travel through Egypt, temple by temple, tomb by tomb, spending much more time at each site than is normal. We explore most of Egypt's most significant places. Usually, we find ways to avoid the crowds – no mean feat!

Gradually, this great ancient doctrine -that fused art, science, philosophy and religion into one coherent whole- comes back to life. By the trip's end we are able to appreciate both the reality and the wisdom of the single issue that motivated Egypt over its millennial history: the immortality (or potential immortality) of the soul.

If you do not see Egypt through 'Symbolist' eyes, you do not see Egypt at all.

A NEW AND SPECTACULAR DVD SERIES (8 Episodes – so far)

MAGICAL EGYPT: A Symbolist Tour

Visually, our new series is like no documentary you've ever seen before. Chance Gardner's photography, revolutionary graphics and inspired editing are a total departure from the standard National Geographic or Discovery Channel rehashes, all pretty pics, academic talking heads and tame commentary by some diligent but uninitiated freelance researcher.

Insofar as it is possible to capture the hypnotic grandeur of Egypt, to reproduce on a screen the wash and wave of emotion you get walking through her sacred sites, this series does that. In terms of content, it's equally original, profound, uncompromising, featuring extended dialogs with adventurous and controversial scholars at the cutting edge of revising everything we thought we knew about our distant past. .

We delve into old subjects (sacred geometry, alchemy, magic, Tarot, the afterlife, Immortality, Reincarnation) traditionally associated with Egypt but always from fresh perspectives. We explore and tie in to Egypt the latest developments in archeoastronomy, contemporary cosmology and astrophysics demonstrating that today's most sophisticated advances were known in detail to the unknown Einsteins of old. We propose that history is not the linear march from primitive cavemen to our advanced selves at the top (as we've all been taught) but rather a vast cycle extending many thousands of years back, beyond even dynastic Egypt. . Its zenith is unmistakably not ourselves, nor was it even Egypt. It resides in something even earlier, a 'lost civilization' that the evidence points to unequivocally, but whose physical details remain as mysterious as ever.

If you've already been to Egypt this series will refresh and greatly enhance what you already know; if you've never been and can't go, this is as close as you can possibly get to the actual experience.

JOHN ANTHONY WEST, writer and rogue Egyptologist, has been studying and writing about ancient Egypt for over three decades. He is the foremost exponent of the 'Symbolist' school of Egyptology--which sees (and demonstrates) an ancient sacred science where modern academics see mainly superstition. West's work redating the Great Sphinx of Giza via geology, (proving that it must be at least 10,000 years old or older) was the subject of a 1993 NBC Special, The Mystery of the Sphinx, hosted by Charlton Heston. Viewed by 30,000,000 people, this was one of the most successful documentaries ever shown, and it has escalated into a heated international scholarly controversy. West won an Emmy in 1993 for Best Research for his work on the video and the show itself was one of four nominated for Best Documentary Program. The BBC subsequently produced its own version of the show for its prestigious and popular science series, Timewatch. Retitled Age of the Sphinx, the show recorded the second highest ratings of any Timewatch episode and generated still further controversy in the English press.

West's non-fiction books include Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt (a detailed examination of the symbolist interpretation of Egypt), The Traveler's Key to Ancient Egypt, and The Case for Astrology. He has also written a book of short stories, a novel, plays, and film scripts. His essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, Conde Nast's Traveler, and many other general interest and specialized publications in America and abroad.